On my wish list because I'm a cassoulet addict, and a huge rancho gordo fan too.

I really really want a great italian cookbook. I remain convinced italian food has more to it then grandma food. I could be wrong. My current leaning is the Del Posto cookbook, but that is just because I heard about it on "Cooking Issues" It is probably just dressed up italian food. With so much coast, sea food should really be playing a starring role one would think.

Hmmm, that's a good one. I don't know what I'd call a "great" Italian cookbook. The ones I particularly like are the regional ones, but you'd want more than one; I can recommend The Splendid Table (Emilia-Romagna) and Cooking the Roman Way, but I haven't see a Tuscan, Sicilian, or Venetian one I really like.

I also like Cooking the Roman way. From Nonna's Kitchen is also good but a bit more rustic. I also like the Rao's cookbook and all things Lidia. Mario Batali's bolognese is my favorite version of this recipe too. I don't have any of his books though.

Warm 1/2 cup water, and mix with yeast and 1/2 cup of the flour. Leave to bubble while you do the potatoes.

Peel, de-oculate, and slice the potatoes. Boil for 10-15 min, until soft. Remove from water, allow to cool (10 min) and mash in a large mixing bowl.

Using hands, mix the flour with the mashed potatoes and the salt. When well mixed, add the yeast mixture and 1 1/2 cups of the potato water. Mix until all sticks.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured board. Knead 12-15 times, but not too much. Coat a clean bowl with the olive oil and put in a warm place to rise for 1 hour (45 min at 90 degrees). Punch down, and divide in half, shaping into two oval loaves. Place on parchment on cookie sheet and rise again for the same period (45 min - 1 hour).

20-25 min before the 2nd rising is complete, place a baking stone in the oven and pre-heat to 400 degrees. Make sure oven has been at 400 degrees for at least 10 minutes before you put the bread in.

At the right time, slash both loaves, and slide the cookie sheet on top of the baking stone. At 15 min and again at 20 min, spritz the loaves with water. At 25 min, you should be able to lift the loaves off the cookie sheet and onto the baking stone. Spritz them, and spritz them again at 30 minutes. They should be done by 40-45 minutes; you can tell by an oak-brown upper crust, and a bottom that sounds hollow when thumped. Place on a rack to cool for at least 20 min.

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